Maelstrom
by Eyejutsumaster
Summary: In this world, alliances are important. Every ninja has capabilities and abilities far beyond that of a human. Survival isn't an option, it's a necessity. Naruto will get his first taste of deep betrayal and find out the importance of needing power.


AN: This is an AU Naruto fanfic. Contains no YAOI.

His ocean blue eyes observed his opponents calmly, not unruffled by the appearance of the three even slightly. He stared at them, meeting their eyes with unwavering intensity. Murderous killing intent flowed in the air from the three, directed at the lone man. The killing intent nearly seemed condensed, as small bolts of lightning – purely created from the _chakra_ they produced – crackled around them. It flowed freely over their bodies, enveloping them like a stream of bright light. The clearing they were in consisted of only a few large rocks located on the barren land.

The blonde man took a step closer towards his assassin, his eyes never leaving theirs. He was a tall man, coming up past a height of 170 cm, with messy spiky golden hair hanging past his eyes and partially past his face, which sported three whisker marks on each cheek. The dark blue hue of his eyes opposed against the obsidian black hue of his opponents'. They frowned when they noticed he stood firm before their killing intent.

He was dressed in the uniform common to a Leaf ninja. A combination of a light blue shirt – with pants of the same color – open-fingered gloves with metal plates and a green ninja vest proved where his alliances lay. His forehead-protector was nowhere seen, but the clothing he wore easily verified to which village he belonged. A single pouch containing a few soldier pills, shuriken and other small ninja items was attached to the back of his waist. A kunai holster was strapped around his left knee. The other limb's knee was covered by bandages.

His opponents were dressed differently. They sported black pants and earth-brown long-sleeved shirts. Their heads were covered with masks, allowing an opening between the eyes for sight. Their shirts were dotted into odd round shapes, giving the impression of a camouflage uniform. Tied to their foreheads on their masks were metal plates, showing the symbol of a musical note. Clutched in their hands – one hand per ninja – were _katanas_, blades shining as if they had been carefully polished. There was no indication that the _katana_ had gone through battle judging by the absence of dirt or scratches, but the ninjas were experienced. Their _katanas_ were very durable, lasting far longer than any normal weapon and standing even stronger than steel.

The man raised a hand. A flash of light filled the empty spot in his hand, forming into a _nodachi_ that was nearly twice as long as the man who wielded it. He dropped into a fighting stance, threateningly beckoning the shinobi to move forward.

Abruptly, one of the opposing ninjas moved. With a maximum of two steps, he closed the distance between him and his opponent, his _katana_ poised in the air to strike. With high-speed, the _katana_ flew downwards, intent on cleaving the blonde in two. The blonde snapped up his blade to parry the blow. The two weapons clashed, and sparks of _chakra_ flew. Disengaging, both shinobi leaped back, their feet barely touching the ground before they sprung forward again with high-speed. The masked ninja attacked first, unleashing a horizontal strike for the man's abdomen, threatening to separate his body in two halves. The blonde was forced to bring his sword downwards; meeting the blade in a rain of average sparks. The masked ninja leapt over the blonde, his _katana_ slicing through air and streaking downwards, meeting against the parried position of the blonde's sword. In the air, the man the altitude of his previous attack to flip himself further, twisting his body to face the man's back. His _katana_ swung down from the ground, rising up to slice the man into two vertical halves at breathtaking speed. Clutching his long sword with one hand, the blonde parried, whirling his sword around his body to aim for his opponent's neck. The masked man brought up his sword to parry, and both leapt backwards again.

They leapt in the air, defying gravity by not falling, and met together in the air with a clash of their blades. They fought, their swords whirling and flowing around their bodies at high-speed, their bodies still floating in the air. They flipped and ducked, their swords becoming near-invisible blurs as they went through the cycle of attacking and defending, bodies moving as fast as their swords.

The exchange was broken when the masked man slammed his blade into his opponent with more force than humanly possible, forcing the man to the ground. The blonde twisted in air to land softly in the ground, snapping his blade up just in time to parry the man's overhead stroke.

The two ninjas battled again, the intensity of their battle increasing as more and more acrobatic moves were added on the ground. Their swords flew much faster and harder, swirling around them like tornadoes. They occasionally leapt in the air, resuming their battle in the air while levitating.

The battle ended abruptly when the blonde managed to slip his sword through the man's ribs in the air. He pushed it deeper in, up to his hilt, passing through bones and flesh effortlessly. The silver blade emerged from the man's back, pointed diagonally upwards, coated entirely in blood.

With one pull, the blonde removed the sword from within the man's body. The masked ninja's body tumbled downwards at high-speed, blood flowing and flying as he fell. A crunch filled the empty noise in the clearing as the body impacted the ground, his neck and limbs pointed into odd angles.

The two masked ninja gaped at their comrade in shock, before hate filled their glares. They literally flew off from the ground by the force of levitation, nearly blurring as they rocketed upwards. The blonde swordsman pointed a single hand in their direction.

Frost escaped from his palm, the ice flying downwards like a crushing tidal wave. Ice flowed over their bodies, covering their skin and freezing it in a layer of ice. The ice figures of the two shinobi stopped only a second in the air, before falling down and impacting the ground, shattered into several blocks of ice.

The blonde snapped his finger, and the ice melted into water, as if heeding the call of an invisible command.

Slowly, the blonde descended to the ground, his feet lightly touching the ground as he landed. He regarded the remaining body with a look of disdain.

"Filth should be disposed of." The blonde quietly stated, walking up to the corpse. He pointed his hand downwards.

Flames engulfed the body, basking it in a large body of flames that nearly rose up to the height of the blonde. The flames licked at the corpse, eating and melting it to ash. Within a single second, the body was gone, replaced by ash.

"Easy battle?"

The man looked towards the source of the voice, narrowing his eyes at the person standing several meters back.

"I didn't even sense you." The blonde stated in a regretful tone.

The man chuckled. He stood even taller than the blonde, nearly a head taller. His grey hair was as spiky and messy as the blonde, but it was longer, as his hair coalesced down behind his back to his waist in a ponytail. Over a netted shirt, he wore a green dojo uniform with a green belt fastened around his waist. Over his dojo uniform, he wore a sleeveless red vest. A red stripe flowed down from beneath his eyes to his chin. A metal plate – containing horn-like protrusions – was fastened over his forehead, displaying the kanji of 'oil'.

"Naruto, what did you expect of someone like _me?_Plus, I just came, right when you burned that Sound-nin."

Naruto didn't answer, finding it more interesting to banish his long sword into the summon world. "The Sound ninja was quite tough."

"Oh?" Jiraiya widened his eyes in interest.

Naruto elaborated. "Tough as in annoying. Nothing I couldn't handle." He gave a fox-like grin towards the older man, who couldn't help but chuckle. "Seriously though, he wasn't really a challenge. I do have to admit that those Jonin are getting tougher." He looked towards the forest ahead, pointing a single finger towards the location. "There's a whole platoon of Jonin waiting for us in the forest. I've smelled them when I was here."

Jiraiya scowled as he looked at the forest. Ahead, far ahead of the forest, was a blurry image of a large fortress. "The fortress is our main goal; we need to conquer it as soon as we can."

Naruto shook his head, a feral grin tugging at his lips. "We have to handle the Jonin anyway; otherwise it will take longer for the reinforcements to back us up if their occupied with the Jonin."

"Naruto, we're going to face curse-sealed ninjasin the fortress. Don't you think we should just conserve our energy?"

Naruto crossed his arms in defiance.

"Great… ungrateful stamina freak." Jiraiya muttered. "Let's just go."

The blonde could only grin triumphantly.

**XXXXXX**

The war between Leaf and Sound had not yet been triggered, but it was clear that the tension between these villages was high and that open hostility was allowed. A lot of skirmishes had been happening at the border between these two villages' countries, and the Sound interfered with Leaf ninjas on their missions. Despite the obvious hostility and engagements, they had not yet come to a war. The reason for that was simple: they didn't have the money or resources to prepare for it.

The reason for the Leaf's hostility towards the Sound was understandable. Since the existence of the Hidden Villages, the various villages had experimented with rituals to seal the spirit of demons from another world into the body of babies. The experiments had been a success, and had been used for young infants hoping to become a ninja. They would follow more than a decade of training to control their demons – which they had dubbed Guardian Forces – and learn ninja skills.

The advantage of a Guardian Force was obvious. The person the Guardian Force was sealed in would rise above human limitations, and receive multiple abilities like control over the elements. The only drawback to this was that they couldn't control the Guardian Force themselves, and needed to create a deep bond of trust. There seemed no possible way to get rid of a Guardian Force once sealed, unless the person bearing the Guardian Force would die, which would cause the Guardian Force to die with him. The Guardian Force and his container were bound together forever.

For decades, Guardian Force and humans had coexisted. The containers found out that Guardian Forces could be summoned in physical form, but it would require a lot of the user's _chakra_, making that option only scarcely be used. Also, Guardian Forces could improve physically and mentally. It was a complicated process that scientists and researches had yet to understand, but it had something to do with the battles of the container and what he experienced during the battle.

The Sound though, had found a way to strongly unbalance the tides of power that existed throughout the world. The elite soldiers of the Sound – usually renowned Jonins – had gained a Curse Seal; a genius designed that seal that allowed them to absorb their Guardian Force as a wholesome. While that wasn't much of a problem if they faced another ninja of the same level, it was discovered that Guardian Forces could absorb the powers of the ones they killed. With these Curse Sealed ninjas being a Guardian Force in essence, they also gained this ability, allowing them to take the powers of everyone they killed. The leader of the Sound apparently held a grudge against the leader of the Leaf, and hadn't hesitated into striking down Konoha's most prominent figures. If not for the lack of manpower, the Leaf wouldn't hesitate to launch into a war.

The Leaf realized that they needed to rely on quantity instead of quality. A duo of Leaf's best ninjas would be sent to eradicate the forces surrounding the Sound's most valuable bases and conquer whichever place was guarded. Since these Leaf ninjas were strong enough to handle even Curse Sealed ninjas, they were easily up to the task. It was the only plan the Leaf could unleash to ensure the destruction of Sound.

Jiraiya and Naruto – master and student – traveled silently through the forest, walking forward to meet their opponents. They held a look of unwavering confidence.

While Jiraiya was a ninja with a record of holding the highest amount of kills and missions in the world, Naruto was a mere Genin, a non-officer in the three-ranked hierarchy of Konoha. He was not allowed to order, only be ordered. He was a pure soldier, the cannon-fodder of his army with no possible chance of gaining command. Unless he became a Chunin or Jonin, he would always be put at the front of battle. Despite his rank, Naruto had demonstrated skill and prowess far beyond his rank. He would've been promoted, if it wasn't for the military leaders which ruled the village, except for the Fire Shadow.

The Sound Jonin awaited them, four Sound-uniformed men clutching _katanas_. The various bases which the Sound ruled had been warned beforehand of attacks when the first fortress fell a week ago. Security had tightened, and it would be impossible to reach the fortress without fighting at least a dozen skilled Jonin. Even defeating them would not truly amount to nothing, as Curse Sealed opponents would await the by-then weary Leaf ninjas. Despite knowing all this, the Leaf was determined not to lose their battles.

"Do you really think you'll be capable of defeating us?" One of the Jonin asked. It was a truthful question, since none of the ninjas present here thought that their win was assured. It was like a gamble.

"We'll try." Naruto commented, as his long _nodachi_ manifested in his hand. _Masamune_ was his trusted sword, the pride and joy of him and his Bijuu. Jiraiya summoned a Zanbatou, which literally took the appearance of an oversized _katana_.

Without warning, the four ninjas separated into groups of two, each group heading for one of the Leafs. Naruto was forced to swing his sword 360-degrees around his body, parrying two powerful blows that send him skidding backwards on his feet.

Naruto instantly erupted in a ferocious battle with the two Sound-nin.

The two Sound ninjas surrounded Naruto at his sides, swiping and swinging at him wildly. Naruto blocked and parried like an expert, his sword blurring as it whirled to block the blows. The blonde leapt a few meters back, his blade swirling around his body like a tornado to parry the blows. The Sound-nin dashed around the blonde, hacking and cleaving to get a hit in. Naruto didn't stumble even once, meeting their attacks with the same ferocity they attacked with. Each contact with the blades produced blue flashes of light, which dissipated merely several seconds after their creation. Naruto could barely move a few meters before being assaulted with hacks and slashes, almost leaving him with no traces of escape.

Two powerful separate blows against his opponents knocked them back, allowing Naruto a moment of space. He crouched briefly before leaping high up in the air. He didn't even get a chance to compose himself as the two Sound ninjas flew upwards; their swords slashing at him like annoying mosquitoes. Naruto blocked the wild and powerful attacks, dancing around his opponents in the air. They followed where he flew, attacking without mercy and unleashing strings of deadly combos.

Suddenly, one of the Sound ninjas decided for another attack. He flew backwards, stopping when he was a good distance away. His partner soon followed, both pointing their hands towards the blonde.

Several large bolts of electricity escaped from their palms, flying towards the blonde at high speed from his sides. The blonde barely dodged the bolts by diving low, watching in satisfaction as the bolts rammed against each other and dissipated into a small explosion of a miniature thunder.

The two ninjas flew forward again, their swords poised to strike. One of them brought their sword down, aiming to separate Naruto in two vertical halves. The other aimed for his legs with a deadly horizontal stroke.

The blonde moved even quicker than the sound ninjas, flying past the ninjas who slashed at thin air. He twisted around, his sword swirling across, tearing cleanly through the necks of the two Sound-nin. Their heads descended faster than their headless bodies, both parts impacting the ground, rising up dust.

Naruto looked down at Jiraiya to see the older man push two swirling balls of _chakra_ into his opponents' abdomen. They flew backwards a dozen meters, toppling down various trees through their paths and falling into the ground after their flight. The balls exploded into two large domes of light.

In the 20 meter radius where the balls had detonated, only a large crater was left.

"Hey kid, come down here!" Jiraiya yelled, waving at Naruto who was still in the air. He was standing atop one of the branches, grinning like a maniac.

"I'm coming!" Naruto replied, flying down. He lightly landed next to Jiraiya, staring at the giant crater in the distance. He whistled. "That's some damage."

"Not everyone can be as clean as you." Jiraiya said, grinning. He looked at the brick-made fortress in the distance. "Let's not disappoint them."

"Yeah." Naruto replied.

It became awfully clear to the two that they had no idea how the next battle would proceed.

**XXXXXX**

The fortress located near the western border of the Sound was a huge brick-stone building, rising more than thirty meters in the air. Its entrance was barred by a large iron gate with bars, holding no possibility of entering unless through the gate.

The fortress was surrounded by forests, away at least a few miles from another civilization, barring any escape attempt.

When Jiraiya and Naruto both arrived at the West Base, they were not surprised to see nobody present. They compared their trials to a RPG, where they had to find boss after boss until fighting the last and strongest boss. The only thing they didn't hope was that they had to puzzle out clues to find the entrance to the location of where the 'boss' resided.

That would be a pain in the ass.

Judging by the lack of any Sound ninja within the vicinity, the two Leaf ninjas had concluded that everyone was awaiting them inside.

The theory was instantly thrown in the wind when the gate sprung open, and shinobi poured out like ants, all clutching weapons of different kinds. There were at least several dozen ninjas gathered, threatening to kill the intruders.

"I thought the reinforcements would handle them." Jiraiya said, reading into a fighting stance with his Zanbatou in hand. The original plan was to call up the reinforcements – by shooting up a giant Leaf-shaped blast of flames in the air – to handle the shinobi guarding the fortress. Naruto and Jiraiya were too lax to call up the forces earlier.

While Jiraiya readied for battle, Naruto leaped several meters back, raising his hand up in the air. A giant column of flames shot up high in the air – rising above the tower – forming the shape of a Leaf.

_Masamune_ materialized in his hands in a flash of light, and he sprinted forward to meet the army of shinobi.

Naruto moved and danced around like a blur, his sword partaking in the deadly dance of destruction. The shinobi fell before him like weed before a scythe. He attacked with wide long cleaves, cutting a part multiple shinobi with a single stroke. They didn't stand a chance as their bodies were cut in half or their heads decapitated. Naruto attacked quicker than they could react, his sword blurring around his body and lashing out at any shinobi close by. He easily maneuvered himself inside their guard, his long blade tearing through the ninjas like they were paper.

Minutes later, countless bodies laid on the ground dead, either decapitated or cut in half. Jiraiya had obviously done his share of bloodshed, judging by the blood on the floor. Naruto – in comparison – had done his kills quite cleanly.

"That was some workout." Jiraiya said, staring up in the air to gaze at the Leaf-shaped flames. "Screw those reinforcements, let's enter."

Naruto shrugged, not knowing if the reinforcements would make a difference if they had participated in the mission to conquer the fortress. They were mostly meant to secure the fortress if conquered.

He followed Jiraiya into the gate, but stopped just before the open gate. Jiraiya who was already past the entrance looked back at Naruto.

"What is it Naruto?"

The blonde opened his mouth to answer, but was interrupted by a barrage of shuriken tumbling down to him from the air. The blonde rolled aside, evading the shuriken. He readied his sword, looking in the air.

A figure descended down from the sky through levitation, his arms crossed in confidence. The man landed lightly before Naruto, lazily running a hand through his hair.

He was about of the same age as Naruto – a young adult – and was smirking confidently. His silver hair fell down to his shoulders. Beneath the apparently calm and handsome face lied a monstrous look of hunger for power. It was apparent by the dark aura surrounding him that he was powerful. A yellow top and blue trouser with white and black gloves were the only clothing and equipment he wore. He wore no other shinobi equipment or held a weapon in his hands.

"So you are Uzumaki Naruto, hm?" The man regarded Naruto with a look of interest. Naruto scowled in disgust when the man licked his lips. "I sense that beast inside of you, just raging to be eaten."

He held out an arm. In a flash of white light, a weapon materialized in his open hand, taking the shape of a curved broad long sword mirroring the image of a batwing.

"I'm Riku." The young man said, grinning maniacally. "And I'm going to be the last opponent you will see."

"In your dreams." Naruto replied. He nodded towards Jiraiya, signaling the older man to go ahead in the fortress. Jiraiya shot him a concerned look but nonetheless entered, clutching his _zanbatou_tighter. The blonde dropped into an attacking stance, his eyes narrowing.

"I hope you pose a challenge."

Moving faster than the naked eye could spot; Riku appeared above Naruto, his sword poised in the air to strike down but Naruto responded with a quick parry to deflect the blow to the side. Instead of the rain of sparks of metal on metal, there was a flash of blue light as the weapons clashed.

The combatants spun away from each other and resumed their ready positions.

Naruto rushed forward, his gigantically long blade descending from the air. Riku redirected the impact with his own weapon, pushing aside the blade and thrusting forward. Naruto backpedaled to avoid the deadly thrust, his blade cleaving across in a long, swift arc. Riku lifted off his feet, somersaulting over the blonde while crashing his sword down. Riku's sword clashed against Naruto's in a flash of light and energy, and came cleaving across once its owner had finished his somersault. Naruto flicked his sword up to parry, using extra strength to knock the blade aside and rotate around, finishing his spin with a horizontal stroke for Riku's legs. Riku crouched to parry low, following up by dragging his blade upwards towards the blonde's chin. The blonde had spun again, his blade arching up diagonally from left to right and slamming into Riku's blade. The silver-haired ninja forced Naruto back with a savage overhead strike, using the same move for a second time to move up in the air. Riku flew up, stopping only when he was a dozen meters above the trees.

Naruto smirked, twirling his blade expertly in his hands before also launching himself in the air. Naruto's _Masamune_ erupted forward in a powerful upward stroke. Riku swiped his blade down to parry, but had to repeat the move to block another upward swing from Naruto, who followed to rise to Riku's eyelevel and swept his sword across in an attempt to decapitate Riku. Riku easily parried, using the force in Naruto's blow to launch twist his body backwards. Riku's blade arched up when Riku's body ascended, aimed between Naruto's legs. The blonde flew up high enough to avoid the attack, allowing Riku to fly backwards and aim a single hand towards him.

A gigantic blast of flames – rivaling a house in size – flew upwards, threatening to incinerate Naruto on spot. The blond reacted quickly, even as the flames homed up to him as fast as shuriken. He released a blast of water – formed from the air particles around him – with the same size. Water impacted on fire, dousing the flames and creating a giant cloud of smoke. The blonde clumsily parried Riku's swift sword strike that passed through the smoke, resulting in him being sent up higher in the air.

Riku flew up, restarting the melee with a sequence of complex, lightning-fast attacks. The blonde's swords parried the attacks with perfect precision and the same swiftness, managing to counterattack with a dangerous strike that left Riku vulnerable for a moment. Riku blocked the thrust headed for his throat just in time, and again erupted in a string of attacks that became more aggressive. Naruto responded with attacks as quick as Riku's were aggressive. Their blades clashed in flashes of light and energy, filling the air with beautiful blue color display similar to fireworks. Riku hacked and slashed wildly, managing to force the blonde back. The blonde flew backwards as he was knocked back by a lucky strike, extending his arm forward.

Riku was blown backwards by an invisible blast of air, almost making the ninja flail wildly, but he managed to direct his body in the right position to avoid being carelessly flung. When the wind stopped pushing him, Riku stumbled clumsily in the air as he blocked the unexpected strike of Naruto's _Masamune_._Masamune_ whirled around Riku like a tornado, hitting Riku from every side whom blocked every hit without fail, moving even faster than the blade. Riku ended Naruto's attacking sequence through closing in with a powerful overhand strike. Naruto parried, and the two swords clashed and locked. The two struggled in a test of strength, trying to overpower the other. After realizing their clash would be going nowhere, the two ninjas broke apart, flying backwards to leave some space.

"You're good." Riku stated, no longer smirking nor showing any form of smugness. He wasn't panted, but his body and clothes were soaked with sweat.

Naruto didn't reply, only glaring silently. The two stared at each other for half a minute, before flying forward again.

The battle in the air erupted in a constant flow of attack and defense. The rhythm of combat progressed in a series in a storm of blades. The two combatants moved more freely in the air, applying neck-breaking maneuvers and acrobatics that would've killed any normal human. They flowed around each other like liquid, their dance of combat never slowing, never stopping. The motions of their bodies were both swift and agile, allowing the two to rapidly push each other's attacks away with ferocious onslaughts. Spinning, ducking, rolling: they were applying their bodies available for every possible movement, predicting each other's attacks and reacting instantly with their reflexes. On pure instinct they drove forward, never backing out, despite the strongest most crippling blows. They were equally matched, physically and mentally, but their styles differed. Naruto's attacks were quick and precise, but Riku's were wild and reckless, but capable of dealing frightening damage that would cut apart diamonds effortlessly.

Riku broke apart by flying downwards, landing near the entrance of the Western Base. Naruto followed him, landing several feet away from the silver-haired ninja who was panting heavily. The blonde didn't look nor sound any better.

"Incredible." Riku exclaimed through his erratic breathing, almost wheezing before he could finish the sentence. "Even with all the power I've obtained, you're still a match for me." Riku had absorbed the power of several strong shinobis, and still the blonde was a match for him. It was clear that either the blonde possessed a very strong Guardian Force, had formed a very deep bond with his Guardian Force or both.

"You think I wouldn't be a match for you? I have not a worthless spawn of an experiment like you, unlike you, I _am_original. You haven't reached the power you possess through your own means, which ultimately makes me stronger." The last thing Naruto wanted to do was to judge a person, but he couldn't feel but feel embittered towards the silver-haired ninja. Many others worked hard to achieve their level of power, but still failed in comparison to the people who got it easy. Naruto grew up with that reality for nearly two decades.

"I'm not content with who I am." Riku admitted. "But I haven't chosen to become the person I am now. Do you realize that, Naruto Uzumaki? Can you believe me?"

"No." Naruto answered resolutely. "You can always change who you are, if you wish to do so. You wanted to stay like this, so that's your own fault. You became what you wanted to become."

Riku released an unrestricted smirk containing full malice. He held up his sword, glaring at the blonde. "I couldn't agree with you more." Riku charged forward, stepping only once to close the distance between him and his opponent.

The battle began anew, the same pace with which they fought continuing, this time on the ground. They fought hard, knowing that their life was at stake, and gave everything they got. Riku's blade flashed in wild arcs, forcing Naruto to block the quick and powerful blows. Riku seemed to be everywhere at once, his sword stabbing forward and hacking and slashing, almost desperately trying to hack Naruto in pieces. Naruto moved just as quick, blocking the blows to his sword, even though he was pushed back a lot. He held on though, despite him staggering more than once. Riku attacked with a flurry, but Naruto's long sword caught every blow as quickly as Riku attacked. Riku was unfazed by each parry of Naruto, applying strings after strings of sword attacks. His sword blasted forward with each attack, a demonstration of his strength which he could apply to cut through almost any material. Like a madman he swung forward, his strokes strong enough to tear easily through the hide of a human. Riku was unrelenting in his pressure, striking so fast he seemed to be attacking from two angles. Naruto was unfazed by the continuous attacks, his sword flowing around calmly to meet the attacks head-on. Naruto predicted every feint and every maneuver, expertly forcing his sword into wide arcs to parry the lightning-quick blows, moving his body into rolls and twists to avoid being cleaved in two. After more than ten minutes of the ferocious onslaught, Riku leapt back, creating at least a ten-meter space between him and his opponent.

Naruto hefted his sword – pointing its edge towards the sky. The sword glowed, basked in a bluish-green light, enveloping its entire form, from the hilt to the edge. It split into two identical glowing lights which shrunk. The light faded, revealing two identical _katanas_. The _katana_ dropped, and Naruto easily caught the two _katanas_ in each hand, twirling them around.

"Now it's my turn." Naruto dropped in an attacking stance, his legs bowed slightly and his swords held before him. He leapt forward, his swords cleaving across from left-to-right and right-to-left. Riku rolled back, leaping back to his feet to parry the two swords aimed for his sides. Naruto was furious in his approach, his swords lashing out from opposite angles, trying to tear the silver-haired ninja apart. Naruto used a combination of acrobatics and dual-swordplay to attack, twisting and rolling to strike the ninja from every position he could muster. Riku held on, but even he was forced to rely on pure instinct. Naruto's swords were like homing beacons, constantly slicing across to slash Riku into bits and pieces. Naruto's strokes were quick and powerful, and his opponent was forced back, not gaining the chance to amount to an attack. His rhythm of attack was complicated but effective, his swords attacking from opposite angles at the same time and allowing no room for Riku to counterattack. Eventually, Naruto managed to drive both of his swords into the blade of his opponent's, knocking it away. One of his swords lunged in, sliding through the man's ribs. Naruto tugged the blade up, forcing the sword to cut through skin and bone like tissue paper up to Riku's chin while his other sword sliced cleanly through the neck of his opponent. A headless body and decapitated head both fell on the ground.

Naruto stared at Riku's decapitated head in disgust, a mixture of disgust and hatred reflected in his eyes. He was panting; he was exhausted and needed some rest.

Before the blonde could dismiss his dual _katanas_, one of the bodies of the Sound-nin rose up, his wounds still present as blood coated his abdomen. Naruto regarded the Sound-nin with a look of curiosity and amusement, but dropped in an open attacking stance.

"Seems Jiraiya or me missed one ninja." Naruto had felt a sliver of life-force amongst the bodies before his battle with Riku, but couldn't care less about the ninja. As far as he knew, the ninja was simply dying. The ninja wouldn't be living long enough though, judging by the slowly weakening life-force. He would pose no challenge.

Despite his wounds, the Sound-nin leapt forward with his _katana_ hefted high up in the air. The Sound-nin attempted to drive Naruto back with furious slashes, but the blonde held his ground and parried each blow, unafraid before the aggressive onslaught. The Sound-nin spun to maneuver himself behind Naruto, his sword lashing out. Naruto twisted, bringing only a single sword down to meet the other sword in with a ring of steel. He leapt back, but the Sound-nin leapt after him, his blades whirling forward with a sequence of slashes. The Sound-nin applied spinning maneuvers in the air with his attacks, his sword slicing through the air as only a blur. Naruto was unaffected as the ninja applied acrobatics to his attacks, meeting the attacks head-on without fear. Naruto blocked each strike with both of his swords, responding to the ninja's unstoppable attack with an impenetrable attack. After growing bored of the fight, Naruto reversed to attacking, driving the ninja back with a lightning-quick series of attacks. The ninja's sword flew out of his grasp underneath Naruto's pressure of attack, and he was sliced apart multiple times, the body bits falling unceremoniously on the ground.

Naruto dismissed his swords, letting the swords vanish in flashes of blue light.

The blonde sighed as his vision blurred. He took one step forward, but darkness overflowed his vision and he fell, unconscious.

The forest creatures passing his body in the following minutes eyed Naruto oddly as he snored like a growling bear, regarding the unconscious human with nothing more than curiosity. It was not usual for these creatures to linger near a human body, but they found the presence of Naruto soothing and his still body a good outlet for their urine.

Naruto would wake up hours later, covered in poop and pee.

**XXXXXX**

The aftermath of Jiraiya's and Naruto's attack had showed excellent results. Shortly after Naruto defeated Riku, Jiraiya had killed his curse-sealed opponent and by then, Leaf troops had already arrived, conquering over the base. With another base secure thanks to Naruto and Jiraiya, the two were sure to receive honors with their deeds. This would be the second base the Leaf had taken over.

"Thinks are looking up." Jiraiya said, smiling as he walked through the gate of Konoha, Naruto at his side, and a dozen other Leaf ninjas behind him. The villagers all looked towards the ninjas with surprise, smiles lighting up their faces as the ninjas entered the village.

It was clear to these villagers that the Leaf had won another victory.

"Whatever… I just hope Kakashi and Sasuke won't mess up." Naruto knew that Sasuke and Kakashi had been sent away the same time as Naruto and Jiraiya. Naruto and Sasuke couldn't get along well, and had been rivals since they started training in the Academy. Naruto was jealous of Sasuke who had everything a man ever wanted, but still denied these things. Plus, the Uchiha had become a Jonin two days after becoming Genin. Him being the Council's favorite, he was quickly appointed to Jonin, while Naruto still remained a Genin. It infuriated the blonde to know that he was a mere soldier, while Sasuke was a general and could command troops, while he didn't even have the slightest care of what happened to another person. How was that fair? Kakashi had taught ninjas in the Academy for several years, but resigned his duty as instructor after Naruto's class year had graduated. He continued his work as a Jonin, and eventually took Sasuke as his apprentice, teaching him everything he knew. Despite knowing how strong Kakashi was, Naruto couldn't help but feel grateful towards Jiraiya in picking him. Sure he was lecherous and weird but he was still a strong and wise (on rare occasions) shinobi.

Naruto longed to become an officer in the village. There were many Genin in the village, but few gained the prestige to become Chunin and Jonin. Chunin were regular officers, like captains in a military army, who could command a platoon or company, some even a battalion. Jonin commanded a regiment or legion, and didn't even need to fight with his ninjas. Naruto didn't want to become Chunin or Jonin for the money or officer position but to gain the acknowledgement of everybody in the village. He longed for the village's acknowledgement since he was old enough to realize his goals. Now he was eighteen years old, and his goals had never wavered even once. He was clear in what he wanted to become.

The glares aimed at Naruto did nothing to discomfort Naruto, though. He was still determined to gain their acknowledgement, and would suffer any ridicule and embarrassment if that led to his ultimate goal: to become the Fire Shadow.

Not only was the Fire Shadow the person who commanded the entire army of the Hidden Leaf, but he (or she) was also the person who ruled over the village, and whose status equaled that of the Fire Lord. The Fire Shadow exhibited excellent leadership and unrivaled prowess. Naruto could only hope to achieve such a level of power.

When the platoon had arrived before the Hokage tower, Jiraiya dismissed Naruto. The blonde objected, but Jiraiya shot him a serious look and informed him that he would try to give Naruto the rank he wanted. Depressed, Naruto turned home, and finding nothing else to do, he simply watched some television.

An hour later, he heard a knock at the door. Opening it, he saw Jiraiya standing in the door, looking grim but happy at the same time.

Jiraiya stepped in the apartment, his eyes instantly resting on Naruto who closed the door.

"So, did I get a new rank?"

Jiraiya nodded, still looking grim.

"Yes!" Naruto cheered, pumping a fist in the air, almost jumping. Even at eighteen, he still hadn't lost his childish behavior. He noticed Jiraiya was looking very grim. "Um… what rank did I get?"

"_Special_Ninja." Jiraiya said, pausing for several seconds before repeating what he had said. "_Special_Ninja."

Naruto stayed still for several seconds, his happiness evading like snow before sun. He was not happy, and for a good reason. "Are you sure?"

Jiraiya nodded, not meeting Naruto's eyes.

Naruto sighed, shaking his head. While _Special_ Ninja was a rare rank gained in the army, it didn't mean a good thing. _Special_Ninja were allowed the same commanding position as a Jonin, but mostly worked freelance, and were given the task of defeating ranked officers of the opposing army. While the rank earned a lot of money and prestige, _Special_Ninja were not tasked with fighting along with their soldiers. They mostly worked alone, and could be targeted by everyone, even higher-ranked officers of the opposing army. Being a _Special_Ninja meant that the person possessed enough skill to be tasked with enough freedom and trust to fight high-ranked officers and take on even battalions or regiments. Being a _Special_Ninja was like saying that one was equal to a Legendary Ninja or a Jonin. They didn't oblige to anyone but higher-ranked officers, and were allowed a lot of freedom. _Special_Ninja weren't only high-ranked, but also had the same skills of an ANBU.

Naruto was _not_happy.

No, he was _ecstatic_.

"Why would they give me such a rank?" Naruto asked, thinking he already knew the answer. It had become pretty clear to him that nothing he received was without its side effects. He had made his mark on history this easy. His dream of becoming a Fire Shadow suddenly seemed only a step away.

"Simple." Jiraiya replied. "The Council probably wants you dead by giving you such an important rank, with all the freedom you have."

Naruto shrugged. Being a _Special_Ninja was enough for him. It meant he had the authority of a Jonin and could do what he wanted. Of course being alone would make him a prime target for his enemies, but Naruto felt confident enough to handle everybody that came to his way. Heck, as a _Special_Jonin, he was allowed to battle the officer commanding the entire army. Usually, _Special_Ninja were targeted by various ninjas since it earned those ninjas special prestige.

"Here." Jiraiya handed Naruto a black sash. The sash sported the symbol of the Hidden Leaf.

Sashes were often items to show what kind of rank a ninja possessed. A red sash was meant for Genin, while white were worn by Chunin. Blue was worn by Jonin. Black sashes depicted the ranks of _Special_Ninja. It had become a goal for some ninjas to gather the sashes of other ninjas.

Naruto wore the sash under his vest, displaying it proudly to anyone who would see. Every ninja knew what kind of color depicted which rank. It didn't matter what village the ninja was from, the color determined the rank.

"You're not happy." Naruto noted, watching Jiraiya keep his eyes on the floor. He knew Jiraiya couldn't be prouder for him to obtain such an important rank, so he instantly knew something was amiss when Jiraiya was sad.

"Kakashi and Sasuke are captured. Orochimaru has them, in the North Base." Naruto gritted his teeth in anger, forcing himself from throwing the nearest table into bits. Orochimaru had been part of the Legendary Trio, the three ninjas who had become students under the Third Fire-Shadow and had survived great battles that would've killed any other ninja. Orochimaru had deserted the Leaf after being neglected the promotion to Fire-Shadow, and had taken over a growing Hidden Village in the Rice Field Country, renaming the village and its country the Sound. Orochimaru controlled the entire country. He was well-known for his expertise in _jutsu,_snake summoning and his level of genius, which he cultivated to become the Leaf's most popular and skilled scientist. He was the Leaf's pure enemy, and would refrain from nothing to destroy the village. His interest lay in the Uchiha's _sharingan_. Though only two Uchiha's were left, he didn't refrain from sitting still and had tried several times to capture Sasuke. All attempts failed. Apparently, the _sharingan_would make him into an enemy which could maybe even rival the Nine-Tailed Fox. The Hidden Leaf had tried everything to avoid Orochimaru from capturing Sasuke. Losing Sasuke to Orochimaru was a high blow to the village.

The Leaf village had just lost one of its strongest _shinobi_.

"So, do we have a mission then?"

Jiraiya looked up, his eyes reflecting the terror he wanted to desperately inflict on his enemies. "Yes, we'll rescue Sasuke and Kakashi."

Naruto's eyes widened in shock, for even he knew that if Orochimaru had captured Kakashi _and_Sasuke, he hadn't come alone.

This would be _no_walk in the park.

* * *

**Some grammar mistakes here. Don't have a BETA reader yet so all of you just have to deal with it. This is a new story, so please give me your opinions about it. It may be kinda vague but everything will be explained.**


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